YCC on the Road: Cattlemen on Capitol Hill

The farm bill and livestock transportation were top of mind as the Young Cattlemen’s Conference went to Capitol Hill.
( National Cattlemen’s Beef Association )

Washington DC has an ever changing political atmosphere with changes at the various levels government there are always ebbs and flows to policy that impact agriculture. While it is hard to get off the farm or ranch it is vital that members of the agriculture community visit Capitol Hill to share their point of view.

Last week while participating in the Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC) hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association I had the opportunity to speak with my Representatives from Kansas. Unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts I didn’t get to see Senators Moran and Roberts, but they are both strong champions of agriculture and were busy working on issues important to farmers.

During our discussions with the Representatives and the Senators’ agriculture staffers the focus was on maintaining farm bill funding for programs like crop insurance and EQIP, while also adding funding for a foot and mouth disease vaccine bank.

Adjusting the hours of service regulation that is enforced through electronic logging devices was also a primary focus as the law has limited flexibility and could cause animal welfare problems. "Fake meat" was discussed during each meeting and even though there is no legislation at this point all of those in attendance were interested in looking at fair labeling of plant-based protein and lab-grown meat.

Other participants of this year's YCC class also got to speak with legislators from their home states. Here's a look at what they saw:

The YCC class went from Denver to Chicago to Washington DC, all along the way the members networked, listened to presentations and toured various segments of the industry. More information about the conference can be found in the following stories:

Note: The author was invited by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to participate in the 2018 Young Cattlemen’s Conference as a media member. This is the third story in the YCC on The Road series.